Variable-speed drive



H. A. SCHURICHT 2,560,991

VARIABLE-SPEED DRIVE July 17, 1951 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Oct. 16, 1944 Y E N R O T T A July 17, 1951 H. A. SCHURICHT 2,560,991

VARIABLE-SPEED DRIVE 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Oct. 16, 1944 1951 H. A. SCHURICHT 2,569,991

VARIABLE-SPEED DRIVE Filed Oct. 16, 1944' 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR Henry bur/bk) B ATTO R N EY Patented July 17, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT (OFFICE VARIABLE-SPEED DRIVE jHeInry A.1Schuricht,' Maywood, Califi, .assignor to Whizzer" Motor- Company, In c., Pontiac, -Mi'ch.,

acorporation of Delaware ripplication ctober 16, 1944, Serial No. 558,865

.It isanother vobject of this invention to provide a compact power drive that can be readily in- Stalled andthat maybe optionally utilized as de- S mdby'therider who may, if he chooses, drive the bicycle either by. the pedals. or by the power drive. I

An example of the power drivethat may incorporate the invention isa', belt drive inoperative relation to pulleys.

'It'is another object of this invention to utilize axjdrive of this character to clutch and unclutch the drive by appropriately varying the center distance between the axes of the driving and driven pulleys.

It-is another object-0f this invention to make it possible to utilize this type of drive not only as .a

clutch between the'bicycle and the engine, but.

also; by belt tension variation, to adjust the speed ratio of the drive.

' Itis still another object of this invention -to provide a simple andinexpensive pulley structure "that may be readily attached to-a wheel ,of-a vehicle tobe driven,-suchras .the'rear wheel of ;a .bi'cycle.

This inventionpossesses many-other advantages, l

and hasother objects which may be-made-more ,olearlyapparent-from a consideration of one emubodimentof the invention. 'For this purpose there. is shown: a ,form; in the drawings accompanying and forming-part of the present speciiilcat-ion; The form will now be described in detail, illustratingthe general principles of the ,in- :vention; butjit is to be understood-that this detailed description is not to be taken ina limiting .sense; since' the scope of this invention is, best .de-

Iflned by the appended I claims.

Referring to the drawings: Fig. lisan-elevationofa bicycle upon which -.flli'l embodiment of the. invention is installed;

j-:Fig..'2 is an enlarged fragmentary elevation,

tsimilar to Fig. 1, but with .part'of the mechanism section;

' -Fig;13 is; an enlarged-fragmentary view similar ates-mug... 2; with part; of; the- 1meQhaniSm removed;

Figs. 4 andgfm eenlarsed'sectional-flaws. taken 2 along correspondingly numbered planes on Fig. 2;

531% .6 is.- an enlarged fragmentary viewofa portion of Fig.-2,. illustra,ting.a position of thedrive in. which the drive. is disconnected;

Fig. 7. is :a fragmentary sectional.view,-.takejn alongplane 'l.-!, of. Fig.2; 7

.Fig. .8 is aview-takenalong plane 8-8 of. Fig. 7; an 1 Fig. 9 is a partiaL-sectional view,,thev section being .,taken to conform -with. they line 1-9-99 of F Y In the present instance; the. drive. is shown; as mounted on a conventional ,,bicycle having a frame; I. ,As, is.,.usual,,.the! lowerv portion of the frame -is provided .:with ,a crankhanger, 2 (Figs. 1 and 3) in which a crank 3 for operation bygthe pedals..4 is- -rotatably .mounted. vThe crank} is j oined to, a sprocket .wheel 5. of.-the conventional type, driying, ;.by.:the- :aid of .they Sprocketchain 6',.,the-rear.,wheel, 1. of the bicycle.

frame... provided withthe usual forked, rearwardly extendingsportions-i8and 9, serving ,to -support the hub structure for the .wheel' I. This hub structure}is-joined,v as'shown in Fig.1 2, by .a. l mber of .wire spokesi l0, .to, the rim ill of theuwheel 1. v

- Therframe. I .also includesyas is usual,..the,ele- ,ments. LI and. I2 forming a crotch,,adjacent. the crank hanger 2. i

It is optional .with the rider of the bicycle to ,utilize the pedals 4.,ior. driving the rearwheel lrortoeouplea source oi .motion,, such as agasoline engine, 3.,to atransmission mechanism. for driving this rearj wheel. This engine 13 is conveniently supported upon a springmounting, in .the crotch, formed bythe. tubular. frame elements .l.| and.,,l2.

. Thus, as shown most clearlyin Figs..1,v2,-,and1;3, thecrankcase of the engine l3 is-shown,,,as attached to a leaf spring. structure IS. The lower end of the leaf spring structure 15. has a. reverse bend therein, the extremity bein accommodated in a shackle 6 carriejd on the tubular element l l.v1The,upper endof' the springlimay be slidably. mounted in a shackle 11,. also attached .t t e ubu ar lementl Similarly, a spring mounting [8 (Fig. .3) ,is .Shown asanchored by the a'id of the shackle," to the tubularelement.l2 of frame]. Spring mounting ,I8 is attached to the upper end of the crankcase l4 (Fig-15), for example. by being disposed in a shallowgrooveformed ,onthe top pf ,the crank, case [.4'. Later on, the means .a f or clarnping ,thisspring to .the crankcase ,[4 .wi hbe descr bed The engine [3 is arranged to be supplied with fuel, such as gasoline, from a fuel tank 20 (Fig. 1) mounted conveniently upon the upper member 2] of the frame I adjacent the front fork 22 of the bicycle.

The engine l3, with its crank case 14, is made as narrow as practicable in order that a rider can conveniently straddle this engine mechanism while riding the vehicle.

The engine l3 serves to drive a shaft 23 (Fig. 3). Upon this shaft, as shown in Figs. 2, 3, and 6, is mounted a pulley 24. This pulley has a groove in its periphery for the accommodation of a wedge-shaped or V-shaped belt 25. The cross section of this belt is shown most effectively in Fig. 5, where the upper and lower reaches of the belt are indicated.

The belt 25 is arranged to drive a pulley struc;

ture 26. This pulley structure has an axis of rotation 21, (Fig. 4).

In order to clutch and unclutch the drive, the center distance between axis 21 and the axis of shaft 23 is varied. When the center distance is reduced, the tension of belt 25 is reduced. On the other hand, when the center distance is increased, the belt tension is correspondingly increased, and the pulleys 24 and 26 are in driving relation to each other. The degree of tension also serves to some extent to vary the ratio of the drive, since, with lower tensions, a greater amount of belt slippage is permitted, and the ratio is correspondingly altered.

The structure of the pulley 26, together with its mounting to effect these results, may be best explained in connection with Figs. 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6.

As shown most clearly in Fig. 4, the pulley 26 has integrally joined with it a pulley 28 for driving the rear wheel I of the vehicle, as will be hereinafter explained. A stub shaft 29 is provided upon which the pulley 26 may be rotatably mounted. For this purpose, use is made of a ball bearing structure including the inner race 3i, outer race 32, and the balls 33.

The inner race 3| is shown as accommodated between the washer 34 and an enlarged portion 30 of the stub shaft 29. The washer is held in place by the aid of the nut 35 threaded on a threaded extremity of the shaft 29.

The outer race 32 is telescoped within a central cylindrical recess 36 of pulley 26, and rests upon a shoulder 31 near the upper end of the pulley 28.

This race 32 is held in place by a spring retaining ring 38 that is snapped into an appropriate groove in recess 36.

The stub shaft 29 is mounted upon a crank arm 39, as by the aid of the nut 49, which is threaded ,on the upper threaded extremity of stub shaft 29. This crank arm 39 is arranged to be adjusted about an axis 4i (Figs. 3, 4, 5, and 6).

In order to mount the crank arm 39 in this manner, it is provided with a hub 42 from which extends a stub shaft 43. This stub shaft 43 is rotatably supported in a bearing standard 44 that is mounted on the crank case I4. For this purpose, the bearing standard 44 has a foot member 45 (Figs. 3, 4, and which extends above the end of spring l6, and which accommodates the upper surface of that spring in a groove co-operating with the groove in the crank case l4. A bolt 46 firmly holds the standard 44 and the spring IS in place.

The axis 4! is so chosen that the movement of axis 21 toward and from the shaft 23 is made quite large for relatively small angular mo e- "7) of a pulley structure 69. V

39 is mounted co-axially with the rear wheel axisments of the crank arm 39. Nevertheless, this angular movement has only a slight effect in altering the center distance between axis 21 and the axis 41 of rear wheel 1. Accordingly, clutching and unclutching the drive has no material effect upon the tension of the belt 48 which serves in a manner to be hereinafter described to drive the rear wheel 1.

Adjustment of the angular position of the crank arm 39 is accomplished by the aid of a link mechanism under the control of the rider. For this purpose, a crank arm 49 is integrally joined with crank arm 39 (Figs. 2, 4, and 6). This crank arm is pivotally connected to a link structure 5l that includes the clevis 56. Link 5| can be moved as by the aid of a manually controlled arm 52 pivoted on an axis 53. The arm 52 is joined to the link 5| above the axis 53.

In order to support the arm 52, a segment structure 54 (Fig. 1) is provided which is appropriately attached to any convenient part of the bicycle, such as the tank 29. The arm 52 can be retained in any one of a series of notches pro vided in the arcuate portion of the segment 54.

A belt guard 55 (Figs. 1, 2, 4, 5, and 6) of thin metal is provided for the belt 25. It is provided with opposed inwardly directed walls 56 and 51 which extend over the upper and lower reaches of the belt 25. It may be held in place as by the aid of the screws 58 (Figs..5 and 6) that are threaded into the lugs 59 integrally formed on the standard 44.

The opposed walls 56 and 5! serve an additional important function. Reduction in the center distance between the shaft 23 and the axis 2'! by rotation of the crank mechanism in a clockwise direction is intended to result in a separation of the belt 25 from both pulleys 24 and 26. But the belt 25 normally tends to assume a true circular shape; and, at diametrically opposite points of the belt, the belt would still be in light frictional contact with the pulleys 24 and 26.

In order to ensure that even this light frictional contact is obviated and to ensure that the power drive may be totally disconnected, the opposed walls 56 and 5'! are so placed as to restrain the belt 25 against assuming the circular shape. Thus, in Fig. 6, the belt 25 is shown in contact with both of the walls 56 and 51 which serve to limit the bulging of the belt 25. Accordingly, the belt 25 is forced to assume a narrow, ellipselike form, the ends of the ellipse are out of contact with the grooves in pulleys 24 and 26, and the drive is entirely disconnected.

When this is accomplished, the rider of the vehicle can propel it by foot power. However, by appropriate adjustment of the tension on belt 25, by the aid of the handle 52, the engine [3 can be gradually and easily clutched to the load, and the degree of tension will determine the degree of slippage. It is only during the starting period that this belt slippage is required. After the vehicle has been brought to its desired speed, further speed variations canbe accomplished by appropriate throttle control of 'the gasoline engine I3. I

The rear wheel drive, as heretoforestated, is accomplished by the aid of the belt 48. This belt 48 is also shown in Figs. 6, '7, and 9. It is accommodated in the groove of the pulley 28', and is similarly accommodated in a groove 68 (Fig. This pulley structure 41 in a manner now to be described.

by adjusting the tension of belt 25.

assoc showni'as formed of thin metal; and it may- .-be

appropriately manufactured by. a stamping; 7 or operation, or. the like; :...The pulley-"struct'ur'eififi is 1 conveniently made insa ring-like' -form having a rimlfio thatdefines the groove 68*forithe belt 181- Integrally attached to the rim portion Bil -is a flange 6! of ring form; Flange fiilILis spacedfrom the rimportion by .the cylindrical shell of the rim.

The flange 6| is arranged to be attached to the spokes ID of the rear wheel 1. For this purpose a plurality of bolts 63, or other fastening means, may be utilized. These bolts 63 are shown, in this instance, as roundhead machine screws passing through the flange BI. Each of the screws 63 is provided with a washer 64 that is intended to overlie the corresponding spoke l, as shown most clearly in Figs. 8 and 9. Each screw is, furthermore, provided with a nut 65 for tightening the washer 64 over the spoke.

In order to prevent cocking of the washer 64 on the bolt 63, bosses 66 are provided on the flange 60 adjacent each of the apertures through which the bolts 63 pass. These bosses 66 may be appropriately struck up out of the metal that forms flange 60.

Furthermore, in order further to restrain angular movement of the pulley structure 69 with respect to the rear wheel 1, the outer edge of the flange BI is provided with fluted portions 61. These fluted portions provide relatively shallow recesses or slots for the spokes ID, as indicated most clearly in the right-hand portion of Fig. 9.

The mode of operation of the device may now be summarized. If it is desired to utilize the pedals 4 for driving the vehicle, the link 5! is moved toward the right, as viewed in Fig. 1, by the aid of the handle 52, until the belt 25 is entirely uncoupled from the pulleys Z4 and 26. In this position, even with the engine IS in operation, no power drive is effected for the vehicle.

Now, in order to clutch the engine l3 to the vehicle, the handle 52 is gradually moved in a counter-clockwise direction, pulling link 5| toward the left and increasing the center distance between shaft 23 and axis 21. This can be done so that the engine I3 is easily and smoothly caused to pick up its load. After the load is picked up, some speed variation can be provided Preferably, however, the speed variations can be accomplished by appropriate throttle control of the engine [3.

The variation in the position of axis 27! has little efiect upon the center distance between the axis 21 and axis 4i. Accordingly, the belt 45 remains at substantially uniform driving tension.

The process of de-clutching is obvious from the foregoing. The lever 52 is moved in a clockwise direction until the position of Fig. 6 is attained.

The belt 48 has an axis extending between the centers of pulleys 69 and 26, and belt 25 has an axis extending between the centers of pulleys 26 and 24.

The inventor claims:

1. A motor bicycle comprising a resiliently mounted motor capable of moving with respect to the frame of the bicycle, a transmission comprising a driven belt adapted to be driven by a pulley on the motor, a driving belt adapted to drive a wheel of the bicycle, and a double pulley for connecting the belts pivotally mounted on the motor, the location of the pivot of the doupulley being about in line with an extensions of: the axis *of "the driving belt whereby to 'rnini Inizethe effect upon 'thetension thereof-of the pivotal movement, andthe relative movemeneer engine andjframe, and means to pivot the double pulley'by small stepstoward the enginepuiley tofeifecta changeof speed, wherebythe drivingbeltji's keptfi'n extended position asthe distance between --the motor"pulleyiand the double pulley is reduced.

.2. A motor.bicycle:comprising a resiliently mounted motor capable of moving with respect tHthtiTretixif the bicycle, ad'r'i'ven"belt'adapted to be driven by a pulley on the-motor, =a" driving belt adapted to drive a wheel of the bicycle, and a double pulley for connecting the belts pivotally mounted upon the motor, the location of the pivot of the double pulley being about in line with an extension of the axis of the driving belt whereby to minimize the effect of the movement thereof upon the tension of the driving belt, and means to move the double pulley toward the motor pulley to change speed, whereby the driving belt is kept in extended position as the distance between the motor pulley and the double pulley is reduced.

3. A motor bicycle comprising a motor, a driven belt adapted to be driven by a pulley on the motor, a driving belt adapted to drive a wheel of the bicycle, a double pulley for connecting the belts mounted upon the bicycle upon a crank having a fixed pivot about in line with an extension of the axis of the driving belt, means to move the double pulley toward the motor pulley to change speed, and means to maintain the driving belt in extended position as the pulley is so moved.

4. A motor bicycle comprising a motor, a driven belt adapted to be driven by a pulley on the motor, a driving belt adapted to drive a wheel of the bicycle, a double pulley for connecting the belts mounted on an arm having a fixed pivot about in line with the extended axis of said driving belt, and means to move the arm about said fixed pivot.

5. A belt drive for a motorcycle including a plurality of belts connecting a motor to a driven wheel through a plurality of pivotally mounted, axially aligned, interconnected pulleys, the pivot upon which said pulleys are mounted being about in line with the axis of one of said belts and outside of said last-mentioned belt, and a guard enclosing the motor driven belt having flat members extending parallel to the reaches of the said motor-driven belt at such distance therefrom that the belt, upon being loosened by pivoting of the pulleys, engages said members.

6. A belt drive for a motorcycle including a plurality of belts connecting a motor to a driven wheel through a plurality of pivotally mounted, axially aligned, interconnected pulleys, the pivot upon which said pulleys are mounted being about in line with the axis of one of said belts and outside of said last-mentioned belt, and guard means having flanges close to the motor-driven belt which reduce the outward movement of the reaches of the motor-driven belt when release pivoting of the interconnected pulleys reduces the tension thereon, said guard enclosing said pivoted pulleys and the pivot thereof.

7. A belt drive for a motorcycle including a plurality of belts connecting a motor to a driven wheel through a plurality of pulleys mounted in triangular relation to each other, one of said pulleys being mounted on a pivoted arm and being' double to receive both belts, the individual= pulleys of said double pulley being of difierent size, and the pivot upon which said double pulleys are mounted being about in line with the axis of one of said belts and outside of said lastmentioned belt and the line connecting said pivot and the axis of the double pulleys being about transverse to the axis of the other belt, and lever means to set the pivoted arm in selected position.

HENRY A. SCHURICHT.

REFERENCES CITED Thefollowing references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date Radford Jan. 4, 1887 Clement Jan. 13, 1903 Mathieu May 26, 1903 Sandell Oct. 23, 1906 Eppler, Jr Oct. 30, 1934 Dunford July 14, 1936 Petersen May 2, 1939 

